bulb blooming schedule

trailer_gal(z4 ND)March 18, 2009

Hello

Hope someone can give me some advice on which bulbs to purchase. We would like to use spring flowers as centerpieces for a ladies retreat on April 17-18. Are any of the bulbs now for sale at the stores able to bloom at that time? Most all of them would need to have a season of winter first? Can a person buy bulbs that have already been made ready by a forcing technique to plant. Would tulips or daffodils be ready at that time? Any other flower suggestions? Thanks for any help.

One more thought. Could I just go outside and dig up some of the daffodil and tulip bulbs I planted last fall. They are still buried under snow. Maybe by April 17 they will be too far along outside and I should put them in the refrigerator to slow them down. Or maybe I should dig them and keep them warmer and then they would be ready at the right time. Does anyone know how long it would take after I brought them in the house for them to start blooming? In North Dakota we are in zone 3/4
Sherry

I'm in US Zone 4 (southern Ontario) and our narcissus/daffodils bloom in April. I have lots of different kinds so they bloom over a long period unless we get a really hot spell. Couldn't you just pick some of your own flowers and use them for centerpieces. Tulips mostly bloom in May here, but again there are early, mid-season and late ones. If you are using them as cutflowers, don't put the narcissus and tulips in the same water. Something from the narcissus poisons the water for the tulips.